AVOIDANCE OF DRUG POLICY DEBATE OLD NEWS

Editor,

The policy of drug war experts refusing to debate the issue has been a
problem for a long time. I'm sure it goes back all the way to Harry
Anslinger himself. Drug Czar John Walters, shortly before the 2003 vote for
Initiative 75 in Seattle, said, "The real issue is should we legalize
marijuana? Let's have a national debate about that."

I'm not a scientist or a doctor (neither is Walters), but even I'd be
willing to stand on stage opposite any person to explain the defects of our
drug policy. And I'm not the only one. As you can imagine, every major
organization and many individual advocates tried to take Walters up on his
call to debate. But Walters never complied. In fact, he never even intended
to discuss drug policy. None of the people dependent on the war on drugs
are willing to let the public become aware of their failures.

I think Students for Sensible Drug Policy should put out full-page
advertisements in national newspapers with the same challenge presented in
Monday's column by Kevin Killough: any person, any time, any place.

People who are involved in the reform effort already know, but raising
general awareness about the unwillingness of public employees to discuss
the policies they control may create the pressure needed to force them to
justify their existence.

Jay Hunter, Daily Lobo reader